For Whom the Bell Tolls MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature

For Whom the Bell Tolls MCQs
Updated on: October 28, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 19 min

For Whom The Bell Tolls MCQs

1. Where is Robert Jordan (RJ) located at the novel’s beginning?

A. At the old mill dam
B. Lying flat on the forest floor
C. At the General Staff headquarters
D. Climbing a steep gorge

B. Lying flat on the forest floor.
He is introduced lying flat on the brown, pine-needled floor of the forest, observing the mountainside and road below.

2. Who is the old man accompanying RJ?

A. Pablo
B. Golz
C. Anselmo
D. Primitivo

C. Anselmo.
The old man tells the protagonist, Robert Jordan, that he is called Anselmo and comes from Barco de Avila.

3. What is Robert Jordan’s primary mission concern?

A. Killing all sentries
B. Recruiting more fighters
C. Blowing up a crucial bridge
D. Finding a safe return path

C. Blowing up a crucial bridge.
General Golz instructs Robert Jordan that his main duty is to blow the bridge to halt enemy reinforcements during the attack.

4. How does RJ know when to blow the bridge?

A. When he receives a direct order
B. After enemy reinforcements arrive
C. After the aerial bombardment starts
D. Precisely at the stated hour

C. After the aerial bombardment starts.
RJ is told that when the planes unload their aerial bombardment, he can assume the main attack has started.
5. What quality does RJ distrust about Anselmo?

A. His ability to walk
B. His loyalty to the Republic
C. His judgment
D. His strength

C. His judgment.
Robert Jordan states he trusts Anselmo completely in all things, “except judgment,” which remains RJ’s final responsibility.

6. RJ compares worrying to what other negative state?

A. Lack of sleep
B. Being hungry
C. Being afraid
D. Being angry

C. Being afraid.
Robert Jordan reflects that “To worry was as bad as to be afraid,” concluding that it makes things unnecessarily difficult and stressful.

7. What does RJ say is his academic profession in the US?

A. Historian
B. Professor of Spanish
C. Journalist
D. Engineer

B. Professor of Spanish.
Robert Jordan identifies himself as an instructor who earns his living by teaching Spanish at a university in the United States.

8. What is the bridge’s construction material?

A. Stone and brick
B. Wood and concrete
C. Steel
D. Rope and planking

C. Steel.
The bridge is described by Robert Jordan as a “steel bridge of a single span” flung across the deep gorge.

9. Why does RJ carry Fascist papers in his right shirt pocket?

A. To avoid mistaking them for Republican papers
B. To be ready for capture
C. They are faked for safety
D. It’s a joke with his comrades

A. To avoid mistaking them for Republican papers.
He notes this arrangement ensures he doesn’t mix up the Fascist and Republican papers in an emergency situation.
10. What structure marks the sentry post furthest down the road?

A. A cave entrance
B. A mill dam
C. A roadmender’s hut
D. The old mill

C. A roadmender’s hut.
The sentry post below the bridge is located at the “roadmender’s hut at kilometer five from the top of the pass.”

11. What is the name of the guerilla leader they meet first?

A. Anselmo
B. Pablo
C. Rafael
D. Agustin

B. Pablo.
The old man identifies the man with the carbine who challenges them near the camp as Pablo, the boss of the band.

12. What immediately reveals to RJ that Pablo cannot read?

A. His difficulty speaking clearly
B. His refusal to read the papers
C. His doubtful look at the documents
D. His crude appearance

C. His doubtful look at the documents.
After Pablo looks at the folded paper doubtfully, Robert Jordan internally notes, “So he cannot read.”

13. Why does Pablo object to blowing the bridge?

A. He fears dying
B. He wants his dwelling undisturbed
C. He lacks explosives
D. He prefers attacking trains

B. He wants his dwelling undisturbed.
Pablo argues that if they make a disturbance, they will be hunted out, prioritizing his camp’s safety over the mission.

14. What changed Pablo’s temperament, making him a “new capitalist”?

A. A large hidden sum of money
B. His acquisition of five horses
C. His marriage to Pilar
D. His command over the band

B. His acquisition of five horses.
Anselmo accuses Pablo of becoming rich and selfish due to acquiring several fine horses. This changed his character.
15. Where do the guerillas live?

A. In a concealed lodge
B. In a heavily fortified house
C. In a large cave under the rim-rock
D. In an abandoned church

C. In a large cave under the rim-rock.
The camp’s main shelter is a large cave located in the cup-shaped valley under the rim-rock formation, offering protection.

16. What type of automatic weapon does the band possess?

A. A Breda Model 30
B. A German MG-42
C. A Lewis gun
D. A Spanish Mauser

C. A Lewis gun.
Based on the description of its round iron pans for ammunition, Robert Jordan internally identifies the weapon as a Lewis gun.

17. How does Pilar first describe Robert Jordan to Maria?

A. A brave American
B. A cold and serious boy
C. A professional soldier
D. A man with good luck

B. A cold and serious boy.
Pilar states RJ is “very cold in the head” because his priority is solely his duty, or “work,” making him seem serious.

18. What position did Maria’s father hold?

A. An artillery officer
B. The Republican mayor
C. A well-known journalist
D. A landowner

B. The Republican mayor.
Maria states her father was the Mayor of the village and was shot by the Fascists because of his political allegiance.

19. How did Pablo kill the four Civil Guards after the surrender?

A. Shot them quickly with a pistol
B. Threw them over the cliff
C. Let them escape secretly
D. Beat them with flails

A. Shot them quickly with a pistol.
Pablo shot each of the four kneeling Civil Guards in the back of the head with a pistol in a brutal act of execution.
20. What happened to the twenty Fascist men held in the Ayuntamiento?

A. They were sent to prison
B. They were clubbed to death
C. They were hanged
D. They were used as hostages

B. They were clubbed to death.
Pablo had the Fascists beaten to death with flails and clubs in the plaza before throwing their bodies into the river.

21. Which Fascist was run through the lines hiding his face?

A. Don Benito Garcia
B. Don Guillermo Martin
C. Don Faustino Rivero
D. Don Ricardo Montalvo

C. Don Faustino Rivero.
Don Faustino, the known coward, ran through the line with his hands covering his eyes, showing his great fear.

22. What item of Maria’s was put in her mouth as a gag?

A. A silk scarf
B. A leather strap
C. Her own shaved braids
D. A piece of cloth

C. Her own shaved braids.
A Falangist cut off her braids, struck her with them, and then tied them tightly in her mouth as a gag.

23. What did the Fascist write on Maria’s forehead with iodine?

A. Her name
B. U.H.P.
C. Viva España
D. His initials

B. U.H.P..
After shaving her head, the Falangist carefully lettered U.H.P. on her forehead with the glass wand from the iodine bottle.

24. What critical items does Pablo steal during the night?

A. All the horses
B. The exploder and detonators
C. The automatic rifle
D. RJ’s identification papers

B. The exploder and detonators.
Robert Jordan discovers that the exploder box and the cigar box with the detonators have been stolen by Pablo.
25. Why does Maria’s hair look strange, like “fur on a beaver pelt”?

A. She had just washed it
B. It was growing back after being shaved
C. She deliberately cut it short
D. It was burned off

B. It was growing back after being shaved.
Her hair was shaved in prison, and after three months, it was starting to grow back, making it appear strange and short.

26. Why did Maria originally come to the mountains?

A. She was escaping a marriage
B. She ran away from her home
C. She was found after a train was blown up
D. She was recruited by Pablo

C. She was found after a train was blown up.
Maria explains she was on a train transporting prisoners and escaped after it was blown up in a devastating explosion.

27. What realization does RJ have about his mind after sleeping with Maria?

A. He became angrier
B. He was clearer and cleaner on his politics
C. He was more confused
D. He was more fearful

B. He was clearer and cleaner on his politics.
RJ reflects that since sleeping with Maria, his mind was “much clearer and cleaner on that business” (of political bigotry).

28. What does Maria claim happens to her during lovemaking?

A. She feels great pain
B. She hears music
C. The earth moves
D. She goes blind

C. The earth moves.
Maria repeatedly asks RJ if he felt the ground move away from under them, referring to the intensity of their connection.

29. How many times does Pilar say this physical experience occurs in a lifetime?

A. Once
B. Three times
C. Seven times
D. Frequently

B. Three times.
Pilar claims the earth “never moves more than three times in a lifetime,” stating Maria had two chances left.
30. What profession does Pilar compare her former lover, Finito, favorably to Pablo?

A. A general
B. A soldier
C. A bullfighter (matador)
D. A thief

C. A bullfighter (matador).
Pilar refers to Finito as a matador and compares his bravery in the ring favorably to Pablo’s present cowardice.

31. How does Robert Jordan describe the appearance of the bomber planes?

A. Like mechanical birds
B. Like swift insects
C. Like sharks
D. Like silver crosses

C. Like sharks.
He thinks of them as “the wide-finned, sharp-nosed sharks of the Gulf Stream,” moving like mechanized doom in the sky.

32. What event triggers the Fascist pursuit of El Sordo’s band?

A. Anselmo’s report
B. The planes scouting
C. The horse tracks in the snow
D. A loud explosion

C. The horse tracks in the snow.
RJ deduces that they were located and pursued because the fresh snow revealed the horses’ tracks to the enemy patrol.

33. What object did the boy Joaquin bring up the hill and dig with?

A. A small spade
B. A steel helmet
C. A piece of metal
D. A piece of rock

B. A steel helmet.
Joaquin uses the steel helmet he recovered from the blown-up train to dig into the ground and fortify his position.

34. How does Robert Jordan characterize his personal experience of killing?

A. He enjoys it deeply
B. He never does it
C. He does not believe in it, but accepts it as necessary
D. It makes him feel superior

C. He does not believe in it, but accepts it as necessary.
RJ states he does not believe in killing, but he accepts it must be done to prevent something worse from happening.
35. What does Maria ask RJ to promise her regarding capture?

A. That he will rescue her quickly
B. That he will shoot her
C. That he will use the razor blade
D. That he will not let her be taken alive

B. That he will shoot her.
Maria asks RJ to promise that if they are wounded and facing capture, he will shoot her to prevent further abuse.

36. What item of equipment is tied across the saddle of a dead Fascist horse?

A. Anselmo’s carbine
B. El Sordo’s automatic rifle
C. A basket of grenades
D. The exploder box

B. El Sordo’s automatic rifle.
Lieutenant Berrendo orders the gun packed on a horse, and RJ sees it lashed arrogantly across the saddle of a dead Fascist horse.

37. How does Anselmo die at the bridge?

A. Shot by a Fascist sentry
B. Killed by shrapnel from the blast
C. He is drowned in the gorge
D. He dies of cold

B. Killed by shrapnel from the blast.
After the explosion, RJ finds Anselmo dead behind the marker stone, killed by a piece of flying steel shrapnel.

38. What does Pablo say his reason was for returning?

A. He realized his error
B. He was too lonely
C. He needed more supplies
D. He feared the Fascists

B. He was too lonely.
Pablo tells Pilar that after throwing away the material, he “found myself too lonely” and the loneliness “cannot be borne.”

39. What is Robert Jordan’s injury after his horse falls?

A. Chest wound
B. Head concussion
C. Broken left leg
D. Torn shoulder muscle

C. Broken left leg.
He feels the sharp bone and realizes his left thigh bone is broken after his horse is hit and falls on him.
40. Why does RJ refuse to let Maria stay with him at the end?

A. The location is too dangerous
B. She must go and live for them both
C. He needs her to guard the horses
D. He needs her to guide the band

B. She must go and live for them both.
He explains to Maria, “Thou art all there will be of me. Stand up,” compelling her to survive for both their sakes.

41. What is Anselmo’s view on killing?

A. It is enjoyable
B. It is a grave sin
C. It is only acceptable if political
D. It is a necessary evil with no consequences

B. It is a grave sin.
Anselmo states plainly, “To take the life of another is to me very grave” and should be atoned for after the war.

42. How does RJ explain his commitment to the war?

A. He is driven by hatred
B. He is under Communist discipline
C. He believes in political assassination
D. He is seeking fame

B. He is under Communist discipline.
He states he accepts their discipline because they offered the “best discipline and the soundest and sanest” for fighting the war.

43. What is Karkov’s military rank, as identified by General Golz?

A. General Sovietique
B. Colonel of Engineers
C. Lieutenant
D. Major

A. General Sovietique.
Golz jokingly refers to Karkov’s political position, saying, “I am General Sovietique. I never think.”

44. Why did Pilar’s former bullfighter lover die?

A. Shot by the Civil Guards
B. Wounded by a horn
C. Tuberculosis due to past injuries
D. Poverty and starvation

C. Tuberculosis due to past injuries.
Pilar says Finito died that winter, never recovering from a blow that caused internal injury and subsequent tuberculosis.
45. What does RJ say is the greatest gift he has for war?

A. His technical knowledge
B. His ability to ignore failure
C. His hatred for the enemy
D. His ability to manipulate people

B. His ability to ignore failure.
He calls it “the talent that fitted him for war; that ability not to ignore but to despise whatever bad ending there could be.”

46. What does Pilar claim she can smell on certain people?

A. Old age
B. Fear
C. Death-to-come
D. Betrayal

C. Death-to-come.
Pilar insists that she “smelled death” on Kashkin, linking the experience to stories of bullfighters sensing imminent death.

47. What does RJ ultimately conclude about truth in the war?

A. Only the Party line is true
B. Truth is meaningless
C. All the contradictions are true
D. Only what he writes is true

C. All the contradictions are true.
Contemplating the war, he thinks, “There’s no one thing that’s true. It’s all true.” This shows his philosophical acceptance of complexity.

48. What is the feeling Maria describes when she is happy and safe with RJ?

A. Purity
B. Loneliness
C. Gloria
D. Contentment

C. Gloria.
Maria uses the Spanish word for “glory,” stating she is thankful to have been another time in “la gloria,” or spiritual ecstasy.

49. How does Pablo summarize the problem of fighting alongside RJ and Pilar?

A. They are too disorganized
B. They are a group of illusioned people
C. They are too cautious
D. They lack sufficient arms

B. They are a group of illusioned people.
Pablo says they are “a group of illusioned people,” led by a woman and a foreigner who destroys them. This shows his nihilistic view.
50. Who does Robert Jordan wait for in his final moments?

A. Maria’s return
B. Lieutenant Berrendo
C. The arrival of tanks
D. The end of the attack

B. Lieutenant Berrendo.
He lies in wait, using his remaining strength to steady his gun, anticipating the approaching Fascist officer for a final stand.

Brief Overview

The novel by Ernest Hemingway is about Robert Jordan’s duty during the Spanish Civil War. He is a young American dynamiter fighting for the Republic.

Robert Jordan must blow up a vital bridge located across a steep gorge. His mission is difficult and must be completed at a stated hour to support a large military attack.

He works behind enemy lines in the mountains with a local guerrilla band. Anselmo, an old man, guides him to the camp. The band’s leader, Pablo, is moody and selfish, worrying about his horses. Pablo does not want the bridge blown up near his home. The group is short of men for the challenging mission.

Robert Jordan falls in love with Maria, a young woman in the camp. Their intense love story develops quickly over three days, as they know their time is short.

The mission faces immediate danger. A snowstorm complicates things greatly. Pablo attempts to betray the mission by stealing vital equipment. Later, Robert Jordan’s comrades, El Sordo and his men, are attacked and killed by enemy forces.

Despite significant obstacles, Robert Jordan proceeds with the plan. He blows the bridge, destroying it to support the offensive. He is then wounded by a shell and left behind by the others who escape on horses. Robert Jordan prepares to fight off the approaching enemy cavalry alone in his final moments.

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